Virtual musical instruments, such as MIDI-based or software-based keyboards, guitars, basses, and the like, typically have user interfaces that closely resemble the actual instrument. For example, a virtual piano will have an interface configured as a touch-sensitive representation of a keyboard, or a virtual guitar will have an interface configured as a touch-sensitive fret board. While these types of interfaces may be intuitive, they require that the user understands how to play notes, chords, chord progressions, etc., on a real musical instrument in order to implement them on the virtual musical instrument, such that the user is able to produce pleasing melodic or harmonic sounds from the virtual instrument. Such requirements may be problematic for musicians with little to no experience with the particular corresponding instrument or in music composition in general. Furthermore, some instruments may not lend themselves to virtual replicas requiring similar input articulations on the user interface. For example, brass or orchestral instruments may require air pressure or handheld instruments in order to play a note, much less a chord. MIDI keyboards are typically used as samplers to recreate these orchestral sounds and, as discussed above, require some level of keyboard proficiency and musical knowledge to produce pleasing melodic or harmonic phrases.
Not all users who would enjoy playing a virtual instrument are musicians who know how to form chords, construct chord progressions, or compose diatonic harmony within a musical key. Furthermore, users who do know how to form chords and play chord progressions on a real instrument may find it difficult to recreate music with the same musical proficiency on the user interface due to the lack of tactile stimulus (e.g., weighted keys, strings, bow, etc.), which the user may be accustomed to.
These problems lead to frustration and make a system less useful, less enjoyable, and less popular. Therefore, a need exists for a system that strikes a balance between simulating traditional musical instruments and providing an optimized user interface that allows effective musical input and performance, and that allows even non-musicians to experience a musical performance on a virtual instrument.